Minor works control in Hong Kong: a preliminary evaluation

Facilities ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 320-336
Author(s):  
Johnny Kwok Wai WONG ◽  
Ringo W.H. Shum
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Control System ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Building Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Building Control System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Regime ◽  
Minor Works

Purpose – This study aims to understand the impacts of the Minor Works Control System (MWCS) on the performance of minor works contractors following its implementation in 2011, and specifically the initiatives adopted by minor works contractors in response to the new building control regime. Suggestions are made for the further improvement of the MWCS. Like many Western countries and Asian counterparts, Hong Kong has recently implemented a new building control system (the MWCS), which aims to restructure the building proposal approval process and shift the responsibility for building control from the public to the private sector. The effectiveness of the MWCS has been strongly questioned by the industry and the public. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method including a questionnaire survey (quantitative) and focus group discussions (qualitative) was adopted to provide an initial evaluation of the impact of the MWCS on practitioners and the industry. Findings – The results suggest that implementation of the new control system has helped increase safety awareness and the technical capacity of minor works contractors. Despite these benefits, registered contractors are encountering challenges under the MWCS, such as manpower arrangement problems and higher business operating costs. Initiatives that include maintaining a sound financial background, an adequate in-house supervisory staff and a safe working environment are considered critical by practitioners to maintain their competitive edge under the new control regime. Originality/value – This study is one of the first studies in Hong Kong to evaluate the impact of the new building control system. The feedback and suggestions provided by the practitioners and experts during the research provide valuable insights for the government on how to provide support to practitioners under the MWCS to achieve a better built environment in Hong Kong.

The impact of new working practices on employee productivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayantha Wadu Mesthrige ◽  
Yat Hung Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consultancy Firm ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to analyse the impact on employee productivity of adopting the activity-based working (ABW) a form of new work practices (NWPs). A study of this nature has never been made in Asia. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods design was used, which combined a comprehensive literature review, three interviews with senior professionals and a questionnaire survey with 37 office occupiers all from one international real estate consultancy firm in Hong Kong, as a case study, to analyse the impact of ABW on employee productivity. Findings Findings suggest that ABW influences employee productivity to a certain degree. Though both physical and behavioural working environmental factors influence employee productivity in general, the latter factors were relatively more influential. Interestingly, though space-per-employee has been reduced under the ABW, this has not affected employee performance negatively. However, findings indicate that distraction elements (e.g. interruptions, overcrowding and noise) do have a negative influence on employee performance. Research limitations/implications The scope of this exploratory study is limited to Hong Kong and to a small sample of respondents representing one international real estate firm. However, the results could be interpreted for critical learning in other similarly expensive real estate rental markets. Originality/value The study highlighted the impact of not only physical but also behavioural working environment factors on employee productivity. The maximum benefits of NWPs can only be accomplished by striking a balance between aspects of physical and behavioural working environments.

Correlation between Machiavellian leadership and emotional exhaustion of employees

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1037-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Stradovnik ◽  
Janez Stare
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pearson Coefficient ◽  
Research Challenge ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of Machiavellian leadership and organisational cynicism on the emotional exhaustion of employees.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 463 employees of Slovenian municipalities. Surveys were used to collect Machiavellianism, organisational cynicism and emotional exhaustion data. Hypotheses were verified by means of three methods: the contingency table,χ2test and Pearson coefficient.FindingsMachiavellian leadership has an impact both on the presence of emotional exhaustion and organisational cynicism. According to the results, both Machiavellianism and organisational cynicism have a direct linear impact on the increase of emotional exhaustion.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the research were formulated on the basis of a survey conducted according to a self-assessment online survey.Originality/valueEven though the concept of Machiavellianism was developed 500 years ago, the existing literature suggests that it continues to be relevant in modern times, most frequently in terms of examining the way leaders establish their power and adopt (un)ethical leadership practices and the implications their behaviour has on their direct working environment. Only select authors have examined Machiavellianism in correlation with organisational cynicism and emotional exhaustion, with an emphasis on the public sector. Due to a lack of research conducted on the subject, the main research challenge was to establish actual correlations between the three factors above.

Customer satisfaction with sommelier services of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Lau ◽  
Man Lai Cheung ◽  
Guilherme D. Pires ◽  
Carol Chan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The abolishment of the wine tax in Hong Kong has led to increased wine consumption and increased demand for wine-related professionals, such as sommeliers. Yet the importance of sommeliers’ value-adding performance in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants has not been examined. To address this gap, the SERVQUAL framework is adopted to examine the influence of sommeliers’ service quality (SQ) on customer satisfaction (CS) and loyalty in the context of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach The survey method is used to collect data from 302 units of the population of interest, partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the links between constructs. Findings Four of the seven dimensions of sommeliers’ service quality, namely, empathy, tangibles, credibility and assurance, have a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, whereas the impact of perceived value and responsiveness on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is positive but only marginally significant. Reliability has a weak and non-significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications Examining a small number of upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong limits generalisation of the findings to other contexts. Replication of the research in different contexts will enhance generalizability. In terms of implications, the discussion highlights the importance of sommeliers’ service performance on customers’ SQ perceptions SQ, CS and loyalty, all of which are important variables for restaurateurs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the influence of the quality of sommelier’s SQ on CS and loyalty in upscale Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. Given the lack of attention to this service role in the literature, the study contributes theory from which further understanding can develop.

Impact of values on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-yung Leung ◽  
Chen Dongyu ◽  
Anita M.M. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Personal Integrity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Behaviours ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. Hong Kong construction students are often criticized, by both practitioners and educators, as rote learners. To improve students’ learning processes, extensive research on a variety of aspects of construction education has been conducted. However, limited attention has been paid to the influence of personal values on students’ learning behaviours. The impact of personal value factors on the learning approaches of Chinese construction students in Hong Kong is investigated. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted to ethically Chinese construction students in four universities in Hong Kong. A total of 820 questionnaires were distributed and 431 valid returns were collected. Findings – The survey identified six influential values (namely, personal integrity, conservatism, determination, discipline, interpersonal relationships, and achievement), and shows that students who emphasize the virtues of personal integrity, determination, and a positive attitude toward achievement are better able to handle their interpersonal relationships, which will eventually lead them to engage in deep learning. Originality/value – Work to develop appropriate value systems is thus recommended in freshmen courses, as is the use of cooperative learning approaches. Such value systems will have a long-term influence on the learning approaches of construction students.

Sustain and legitimize reputation

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nubia Cristina Mapa ◽  
Luiz Claudio Vieira de Oliveira ◽  
Mario Teixeira Reis Neto
Keyword(s):  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Mining Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Rhetoric ◽  
Rational Discourse ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sustainability Report ◽  
Discursive Resources

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the discursive resources used to sustain and legitimize the reputation of the mining company Samarco Mineração regarding sustainability, before the environmental accident occurred in 2015. Design/methodology/approach The sustainability reports from 2005 to 2014 were accessed for the analysis of the presentation texts, and the discourse analysis method was applied to access the discursive resources employed. Findings From the classical concepts of rhetoric, ethos, pathos and logos, it was found that they reinforced the reputation and legitimacy of the company. The ethos is responsible for the company’s image, while pathos triggers the emotional reception of that image, provoking positive expectations. The logos relate the built image and its emotional reception to a rational discourse that values the company’s expertise. The analysis, in the light of the new rhetoric, exposes the strategies to lead the public to accept the image of solidity and confidence given by a reputation respected nationally and internationally. Research limitations/implications As a limitation, the quantitative data of the report were not analyzed, since the objective was to analyze the discourse construction, understanding that the research was adequate for the established purposes. For the future, it is suggested to analyze the discourse of the company after the environmental accident in order to verify the strategies used in the same theme; analyze the discourses in other reports published in the Global Reporting Initiative model; investigate how the logic of sustainability report construction based on a standard model can interfere in the formation of reputation and legitimacy of the companies; and analyze the impact of CSR on the strategy of the companies. Practical implications The knowledge about the functioning of the language and discourse as an indicative of subjectivity provides a more critical reading and reveals elements implicit in the discourse of the organization. It was verified that the sustainability reports in encapsulated formats allow some stability in the discourse, since companies tend to follow the same line of previous years, even with changes in the organizational structure. Originality/value Discourses built by the companies do not always reflect the true operational and engineering situation practiced by them, and that successful and reputed companies can surprise their stakeholders with events of great magnitude that cause significant losses, be they monetary or human lives.

Public reassurance following a collective trauma event: a scoping review of the evidence to inform police practice

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndal Hickey ◽  
Louise Hams ◽  
Lauren Kosta
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Traumatic Events ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Collective Trauma ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis paper examines the empirical research on police reassurance following a collective trauma event (CTE).Design/methodology/approachUsing a scoping review methodology, this paper sought to establish the extent, range and nature of published literature on policing responses to collective traumatic events, and to identify key features of this form of direct practice. Included papers needed to focus on police responses oeassurance with the public related to events (pre-or post) that could be regarded as collective trauma events by nature or scale. Searches were conducted using the Web of Science, SCOPUS and PsychINFO databases for literature published between January 2000 and December 2019.FindingsFourteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The key themes identified: (1) measuring the impact of reassurance and community policing; (2) community attitudes to policing and social disorder/critical events; (3) police workforce responses to traumatic events; and (4) interventions to support police to respond to their community.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research needs to examine the elements that create a robust organisational infrastructure that can withstand the demands of policing in ordinary and extraordinary times. Fundamental to the studies in this review is the relationship between the police agencies and the community. The nature of this relationship and how it can be strengthened to ameliorate the negative impact of CTEs in communities needs further exploration.Originality/valueThis paper provides important findings that can inform future reassurance policing practice and research.

Research from China finds no significant difference in impact of public service motivation (PSM) in public and private sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Intention To Leave ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The authors assumed PSM would be higher in the public sector, but they set up a trial to find out if this was the case. Design/methodology/approach To test their theories, the authors conducted two independent surveys. The first consisted of 220 usable responses from public sector employees in Changsha, China. The second survey involved 260 usable responses from private sector employees taking an MBA course at a university in the Changsha district. A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes. Findings The results found no significant difference between the impact of public sector motivation (PSM) on employee performance across the public and private sectors. The data showed that PSM had a significant impact on self-reported employee performance, but the relationship did not differ much between sectors. Meanwhile, it was in the private sector that PSM had the greatest impact on intention to leave. Originality/value The authors said the research project was one of the first to test if the concept of PSM operated in the same way across sectors. It also contributed, they said, to the ongoing debate about PSM in China.

The prisoner’s dilemma in the workplace: how cooperative behavior of managers influence organizational performance and stress

Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Spurný ◽  
Ivan Kopeček ◽  
Radek Ošlejšek ◽  
Jaromír Plhák ◽  
Francesco Caputo
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Stress Resistance ◽  
Prisoner's Dilemma ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Prisoner’S Dilemma ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The aim of the paper is to analyze the impact of cooperativeness of managers who occupy central positions in interaction networks on the performance and stress levels of a whole organization. Design/methodology/approach To explore this relationship, a multi-parameter agent-based model is proposed which implements the prisoner’s dilemma game approach on a scale-free network in the NetLogo environment. A description of the socioeconomic aspects and the key concepts implemented in the model is provided. Stability and correctness have been tested through a series of validation experiments, including sensitivity analysis. The source code is available for further exploration and testing. Findings The simulations revealed that improving the stress resistance of all employees moderately increases organizational performance. Analyzing managers’ roles showed that increasing only the stress resistance of managers does not account for significantly higher overall performance. However, a substantial increase in organizational performance and a decrease in stress levels are achieved when managers are unconditionally cooperative. This effect is stronger for the lowered stress resistance of employees. Therefore, the willingness of managers to cooperate under all circumstances can be a key factor in achieving better performance and building a more pleasant, stress-free working environment. Originality/value This paper aims to present a model for analyzing cooperation, specifically in the organizational context, extending the prisoner’s dilemma with novel concepts and mechanisms. Although the results confirm the existing theories about the importance of central nodes in complex networks, they also provide further details on how the cooperative behavior of central nodes (i.e. the managers) might benefit the organization.

Public perception of COVID-19 vaccines from the digital footprints left on Twitter: analyzing positive, neutral and negative sentiments of Twitterati

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aasif Ahmad Mir ◽  
Sevukan Rathinam ◽  
Sumeer Gul
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
English Language ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Application Programming Interface ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Reaction ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The Impact

PurposeTwitter is gaining popularity as a microblogging and social networking service to discuss various social issues. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic and is discussed worldwide. Social media is an instant platform to deliberate various dimensions of COVID-19. The purpose of the study is to explore and analyze the public sentiments related to COVID-19 vaccines across the Twitter messages (positive, neutral, and negative) and the impact tweets make across digital social circles.Design/methodology/approachTo fetch the vaccine-related posts, a manual examination of randomly selected 500 tweets was carried out to identify the popular hashtags relevant to the vaccine conversation. It was found that the hashtags “covid19vaccine” and “coronavirusvaccine” were the two popular hashtags used to discuss the communications related to COVID-19 vaccines. 23,575 global tweets available in public domain were retrieved through “Twitter Application Programming Interface” (API), using “Orange Software”, an open-source machine learning, data visualization and data mining toolkit. The study was confined to the tweets posted in English language only. The default data cleaning and preprocessing techniques available in the “Orange Software” were applied to the dataset, which include “transformation”, “tokenization” and “filtering”. The “Valence Aware Dictionary for sEntiment Reasoning” (VADER) tool was used for classification of tweets to determine the tweet sentiments (positive, neutral and negative) as well as the degree of sentiments (compound score also known as sentiment score). To assess the influence/impact of tweets account wise (verified and unverified) and sentiment wise (positive, neutral, and negative), the retweets and likes, which offer a sort of reward or acknowledgment of tweets, were used.FindingsA gradual decline in the number of tweets over the time is observed. Majority (11,205; 47.52%) of tweets express positive sentiments, followed by neutral (7,948; 33.71%) and negative sentiments (4,422; 18.75%), respectively. The study also signifies a substantial difference between the impact of tweets tweeted by verified and unverified users. The tweets related to verified users have a higher impact both in terms of retweets (65.91%) and likes (84.62%) compared to the tweets tweeted by unverified users. Tweets expressing positive sentiments have the highest impact both in terms of likes (mean = 10.48) and retweets (mean = 3.07) compared to those that express neutral or negative sentiments.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of the study is that the sentiments of the people expressed over one single social platform, that is, Twitter have been studied which cannot generalize the global public perceptions. There can be a variation in the results when the datasets from other social media platforms will be studied.Practical implicationsThe study will help to know the people's sentiments and beliefs toward the COVID-19 vaccines. Sentiments that people hold about the COVID-19 vaccines are studied, which will help health policymakers understand the polarity (positive, negative, and neutral) of the tweets and thus see the public reaction and reflect the types of information people are exposed to about vaccines. The study can aid the health sectors to intensify positive messages and eliminate negative messages for an enhanced vaccination uptake. The research can also help design more operative vaccine-advocating communication by customizing messages using the obtained knowledge from the sentiments and opinions about the vaccines.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on an essential aspect of COVID-19 vaccines and how people express themselves (positively, neutrally and negatively) on Twitter.

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